A meeting of the State Council, China's cabinet, presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao ordered that the minimum second-home down payment be hiked to 60 percent of the property's value.

Just last April it had ordered the payment raised to 50 percent as the government fought to curb skyrocketing property values and real estate speculation.

A statement issued by the State Council after the meeting also said cities that had seen especially fast property price increases must draw up and implement measures to limit real estate sales.

China's government has issued a raft of measures recently to curb spiralling prices, as polls have showed the difficulty in affording housing had become the top consumer fear.

Inflation and disputes over land have a history of sparking unrest in China.

However, property prices in China's major cities have continued to increase, posting their fourth straight month-on-month rise in December as sales picked up pace.

The State Council statement reiterated an order issued last year that mortgage loan rates for second home purchases must be at least 10 percent higher than the central bank's benchmark lending rates.

It also told authorities across the nation to increase the supply and availability of affordable and public housing, and to utilise a range of tax, land-use and other policies to put the brakes on land speculators.

Those found violating any measures aimed at tackling price spurts must be "severely" dealt with, it said.

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